Nature’s Call

Alex Jackson

Nature’s Call

February 12 – March 13, 1993

Opening reception: Friday February 12th, 6 – 8pm

Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 12 – 5pm

Nature’s Call takes a humorous look at our cultural construction of natural beauty in the form of national parks. As the double entendre of the title suggests, our experience of some of the most exceptional natural beauty are heavily mediated by a need for convenience and control. As Jackson states, “Glorious landscapes are ‘preserved for the benefit and enjoyment of the people’ so that far away from our embarrassing mountains of waste, tourists can leer at the national parks centerfolds.” Large painted panels feature compilations of isolated elements taken from photographs of a variety of landscapes, wilderness vistas to manicured arrangements of plants in urban settings. Life-size painted cutouts of trees and shrubs add to the atmosphere of “cultural nature”, as does a wooden information display unit stocked with booklets the artist has created. Generated from texts copied out of parks publications, old magazines, and books on landscape architecture, these include titles like “ Understanding Bears, Alcohol, and Human Nature, “ A National Policy: Access to Picnicking”, and “ Help us keep this Toilet CLEAN.”

Alex Jackson is a recent graduate of the MFA program at UC Davis. This is his first one-person show in San Francisco.